Weekly Current Affairs (Apr 9 to Apr 15)

Quoting of Aadhaar has been made mandatory for filing income tax returns with effect from July 1, as introduced by the Finance Act, 2017.

Madhya Pradesh is all set to join the league of those states which have launched populist subsidised meal scheme for poor with the opening of canteens that provides wholesome food at Rs 5 under the Deendayal Antyodaya Rasoi Yojana.

India ranks ninth among 41 countries in bribery and corrupt practices in businesses, according to the findings of a recent survey.

NBA Basketball Schools open to young male and female players; Top players at each basketball school will have opportunity to attend NBA Academies.

A transaction of Rs 1,590 has bagged a Central Bank of India customer a lucky bounty of Rs 1 crore under the Modi government's promotional scheme to popularise digital payments.

India Today Group Editorial Director Kalli Purie was today awarded the FICCI Young Women Achievers Award for excellence in media.

The government has cleared retired Supreme Court judge Shiva Kirti Singh as the next chairman of the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has granted affiliation to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), ending a long-standing impasse between the two bodies.

Uruguay’s three-year process of legalising recreational cannabis consumption reached its final stage when the government said it would authorise pharmacies to begin selling the substance as of July.

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first NIMCARE World Health Day Summit 2017.

Atu Zumvu, SDPO Kohima has been conferred with the prestigious “Shaurya Chakra” thus becoming the first Police Officer from Nagaland Police to be conferred with Shaurya Chakra since 1st December 1963 when Nagaland achieved its Statehood.

NASA's Peggy Whitson, soon to become the most experienced US astronaut in terms of time spent in space, assumed command of the International Space Station as two Russian crew members and an American prepared to fly back to Earth. For Whitson, 57.

An Indian-origin educationist in the UK, who moved to Britain after her marriage with no English language skills, has been named the Asian Businesswoman of the Year in an award ceremony in Birmingham.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to slash clearance time for National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) in an attempt to enhance efficiency of the electronic payment system and add to customer convenience.

Former Union minister and senior congress leader M Veerappa Moily today presented the first copy of his book 'The Flaming Tresses of Draupadi' to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Canara Bank, a public sector bank, has embarked upon an ambitious project of upgrading the bandwidth at all its branches to 2 Mbps in partnership with BSNL.

Mukta Dutta Tomar was appointed as new India's Ambassador to Germany.

Launching the app and website ‘BharatKeVeer’ with Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, lauded the Government of India for making his dream come true and providing a platform for everyone to help the next of the kin of slain soldiers financially.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the National Convention on World Homeopathy Day on 10 April 2017 at New Delhi.

India has signed a joint declaration with Russia to promote innovation and the R&D ecosystem between the two countries.

India and Australia inked six pacts including one aimed at boosting counterterrorism cooperation after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull.

North India is all set to get its first Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) bank for wildlife in Bareilly.

Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu launched 352 projects in 53 cities in 17 States across the country with an investment of Rs 38,003-cr to build 2,03,851 affordable houses.

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to invest in Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), a move that will help revive the cash-starved infrastructure Sector.

Saraswat Bank, the largest lender in the co-operative space, has appointed Smita Sandhane as its Managing Director (MD) with effect from 01st April 2017.

Samsung R&D Institute India filed the maximum number of patent applications in the IT sector in 2015-16, followed by home-grown TCS and Wipro according to Indian Patent Office survey.

The 12th edition Indo-Mongolian Joint Military Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2017 has begun at Vairengte in Mizoram.

The Agriculture Ministry joined hands with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), a wing of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to geo-tag agricultural assets for their real-time monitoring and effective utilization.

Mercedes' British Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton defeated Ferrari's four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel to lift his fifth title at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi finally inaugurated an exhibition titled “Swachhagraha – Bapu Ko Karyanjali – Ek Abhiyan, Ek Pradarshani” in the New Delhi to mark the 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s first experiment of Satyagraha in Champaran.

India and Mongolia have commenced a joint military training exercise called "Nomadic Elephant -2016" in Mongolia.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency announced the appointment of internationally acclaimed actress and philanthropist Kristin Davis as its Goodwill Ambassador.

The principal judge of a family court in Muzaffarnagar has set a Guinness World Record by disposing of as many as 6,065 cases in 327 working days.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared a three-month state of emergency in Egypt and ordered military special forces to protect vital infrastructure after two powerful church bombings by the Islamic State terror group killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 100 others.

Fino Paytech, which just received the Reserve Bank of India's licence to launch a payments bank, has inked a deal with ICICI group companies to distribute insurance products and tied up with Exide Life insurance to sell products via its distribution channel.

Smita Sandhane has taken charge as Managing Director of the Saraswat Co-operative Bank with effect from April 1. She is the first woman chief of India's largest urban co-operative bank.

Ministry of Rural Development has released nearly Rs. 23,443 crore to the States as the first tranche for this Financial Year, under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

The Survey General of India (SOI) completes 250 years.

The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh chaired the 11th Standing Committee meeting of the Inter-State Council in New Delhi.

Fino Paytech, which just received the Reserve Bank of India's licence to launch a payments bank, has inked a deal with ICICI group companies to distribute insurance products and tied up with Exide Life insurance to sell products via its distribution channel.

Senior bureaucrats Ajit Kumar Srivastava and Shabri Bhattasali were appointed members of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of the Income Tax department.

Carme Chacon, the first female defense minister of Spain and a prominent socialist party leader, has died aged 46.

ESAF Small Finance Bank has launched a social deposit scheme called Hrudaya Deposit at a function held in Thrissur.

National Hindi Sevi Samman Awards announced.

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has received the first copy of the Book titled ‘Hope in a challenged democracy; An Indian narrative’ authored by Shri Ashwini Kumar, from the former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, here today.

India's largest e-commerce firm Flipkart has raised $1.4 billion led by China's internet giant Tencent, with participation from the online auction site eBay and Microsoft, valuing the Bengaluru-based company at $11.6 billion, post the investment.

PM releases book authored by LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Central Hindi Institute Director N.K. Pandey announced the names of 26 writers from different categories for the prestigious Hindi Sevi Samman Awards.

Govt sets up inter-minesterial panel to monitor UDAN.

A new web portal nakshe" was launched by the Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi on the occasion of 250th anniversary of Survey of India(SoI).

Literary blockbuster novel The Underground Railroad, which depicts the journey of a young woman escaping from slavery via a fantastical train system, has won the Pulitzer prize for fiction.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced the re-launch of ‘Adarana’, a scheme for improving traditional occupations on the occasion of 191st birth anniversary of social reformer Mahatma Jyotirao Phule which is being celebrated for the first time as a State function.

Bank accounts opened between July 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 need to submit self-certification by April 30 to comply with FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) provisions, without which the accounts would be blocked.

Nokia partner with Airtel and BSNL to set up 5G internet speed in India.

Alishan Mohammad and Pratap Lakra scored a brace each as India emerged champion at the 5th Asian School Hockey Championship with a convincing 5-1 win over Malaysia in the final.

Three Indians are among 90 Gates Cambridge scholars selected from nearly 6,000 applicants from around the world for postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge from the academic year beginning later this year.

In its efforts to promote digital financial transactions, the Kerala-based NBFC Manappuram Finance will launch its own co-branded prepaid card in tie-up with YES Bank.

Department of medical genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal has discovered a new genetic disease called "Multiple mitochondrial dysfunction syndrome" in four children from two unrelated families in the region.

PM Modi becomes the most followed world leader on Instagram.

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the National Geoscience Awards 2016 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan

The government today appointed two more managing directors to the nation’s largest financial powerhouse LIC — B Venugopal and Sunita Sharma, for a period of nearly two years.

In a star-studded event in Mumbai Salman Khan of Bollywood launched actress Asha Parekh’s autobiography ‘The Hit Girl’, for which he’s written the Foreword as well.

With 50 days to go for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, the International Cricket Council announced eight stalwarts of the game as Champion Ambassadors for the tournament in England and Wales.

The Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL) has bagged the SCOPE Award for Excellence and Outstanding Contribution to the Public Sector Management – Institutional Category III (Other Profit Making PSEs) for the year 2014-15.

World Bank approves $375 million loan for India’s first waterway project.

For the first time ever, the twelve major ports under the Ministry of Shipping have been ranked on sanitation parameters, based on the efforts undertaken by them to counter waste generating sources with respect to port operation, office area, township area and the response to incoming ships.

Petrol diesel prices to change everyday from May 1.

A fleet of pink patrol vehicles to attend to the distress calls from women and an exclusive police mobile phone distress application have been introduced in Bengaluru as part of an effort to improve the safety and security of women in the city.

India Australia sign Sports Partnership.

Amazon receives RBI approval for e-wallet.

UN chief Guterres names Achim Steiner as new aministrator of UNDP.

India observed the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar on April 14 as "Water Day" to sensitize people on managing the precious natural resource.

A unique programme to pay tribute to mothers will be introduced in the government-run schools in Andhra Pradesh from this year

Haryana on Thursday launched Operation Durga to ensure women safety in the state, under which the police caught at least 72 eve-teasers on its first day.

Karnataka Bank Ltd has announced top-level management changes with the present Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO) of the bank, P Jayarama Bhat, assuming the charge of part-time non-executive Chairman of the bank.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture has selected Himachal Pradesh for the Krishi Karman Award 2015-16 for commendable increase in food grains.

An Indian software engineer has won the top prize at a global challenge for an open-source tool that enables users to interactively view UN General Assembly resolutions and gain a deeper understanding of the voting patterns of member states.

Taxpayers wanting to send their paper ITR acknowledgement forms or documents related to refunds and others to the I-T department’s CPC in Bengaluru can now send it to a “unique” pin code.

France and India pact to upgrade Railways.

Department of Posts has joined hands with State Bank of India to promote 'SBI buddy e-wallet' and POS machines for cashless transactions at post office counters while booking speed post and registered post items.

IBM has appointed a chief digital officer (CDO) for India, one of the first countries outside the US to have such a position, and marks the importance the country holds as IBM morphs into a platform company with the focus on cloud and cognitive.

With a motive to enlighten children in naxal-affected areas of Jharkhand?s Palamau district, Jharkhand Police has initiated Tare Zameen Par program to encourage children to lead happy lives.

UP Govt and centre sign MoU for ‘Power for all’ scheme.

Dr. (Ms.) Mukulita Vijayawargiya took charge as Whole Time Member, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India in New Delhi

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